Memorizing multiplicatin tables.?

Question

I am having problems memorizing my multiplication tables for 4th grade. I am very smart and one of top students in my class in all areas except for this one. For some reason I just can't make it stick. I have tried most common methods such as flash cards, games etc.

Does anybody have some different methods or tricks for memorizing.

Answer 1

Let's look at a multiplication table:


x | 2 3 4 5 6 7 8 9
--+------------------------------
2 | 4 6 8 10 12 14 16 18
|
3 | 6 9 12 15 18 21 24 27
|
4 | 8 12 16 20 24 28 32 36
|
5 |10 15 20 25 30 35 40 45
|
6 |12 18 24 30 36 42 48 54
|
7 |14 21 28 35 42 49 56 63
|
8 |16 24 32 40 48 56 64 72
|
9 |18 27 36 45 54 63 72 81


Now let's remove the extras. For example, with the 3 on the left and the 6 on top in the table, we
won't need 6 x 3. Once we've done 7 x 8, we won't need 8 x 7. And so
on.
Sorry, you may have to move the numbers because yahoo doesn't let me move them the way I want.
x | 2 3 4 5 6 7 8 9
--+------------------------------
2 | 4 6 8 10 12 14 16 18
|
3 | 9 12 15 18 21 24 27
|
4 | 16 20 24 28 32 36
|
5 | 25 30 35 40 45
|
6 | 36 42 48 54
|
7 | 49 56 63
|
8 | 64 72
|
9 | 81


You can see that you really only need to learn half the table!

There's another interesting math fact that you can find in this
version of the table. When you multiply a number by itself, it's
called "squaring" it. On paper we write 2 squared like this, with a
smaller 2 above and to the right of the main 2:

2
2

Two squared means 2 x 2 and the answer is 4. On a keyboard we use a
caret like this to write 2 squared: 2^2.

Now let's look at some other squares:

2^2 = 2 x 2 = 4
3^2 = 3 x 3 = 9
4^2 = 4 x 4 = 16
5^2 = 5 x 5 = ?
6^2 = 6 x 6 = ?

Look at the table and find the numbers 4, 9, 16 ... do you see them
on the diagonal going from upper left to lower right? You've found a
whole line of square numbers!
For the nines use your fingers. For 9x1, put one pinkie down and you have nine left, For 9x2, put only one ring finger down and you have 1 pinkie on one side and 8 other fingers on other=18. For 9x3, put one middle finger down and you have 2 on one side and 7 on other=27. Follow this for the rest of them.

Answer 2

Multiplcation Table
Memorizing the multiplcation table is a special case. The other memory techniques on this web site give ways to memorizing things using pictures or other neat tricks. For example, you could, potentially, memorize multiplication using peg words. For 9 x 8 = 72, you could use the peg word bee for 9, ivy for 8, and can for 72, then think of a little story: a bee lands on the ivy, but the ivy must be poisonous because within moments it falls dead into a tin can placed at the bottom of the ivy (along with other insects).
Now, is this story easy to remember? Yes! Can you think of 72 if you think of the bee and the ivy, assuming you previously memorized the fact that can is 72? Yes! There's just one problem here. It's not fast enough. If we're trying to recall the capital of Pakistan, and we use pictures in our mind, that's no problem, especially since we recall the capital of Pakistan very infrequently. But if you were trying to multiply some numbers on a math test, it would take forever!

So in this special case we forget peg words or other pictures and just memorize by brute force... by saying "6 x 9 = 54" over and over again to yourself. This is not easy! It will take a lot longer than the other methods given in these web pages. But in this case we have no choice. Fortunately, only a few things have to be memorized this way... and, once you have it memorized, you have it for life!

The bottom line: Consider each memory problem on a case-by-case basis, and decide what the best method is. Consider things like: How often does this information need to be recalled? How quickly must it be recalled? How much time to I have to memorize it? Is it vital that I memorize the information perfectly, or is it okay if I miss an item or two? I can't give you a magic table that will lay out what method should be used for what situation... it would vary depending on the person, anyway! But if you learn a bunch of different techniques on this web site, and if you practice a lot, then you'll get better and better!

Answer 3

I remember in 6th grade, our teacher had a game, where 2 people stood up, then the teacher asked a multiplication question. The first person to answer corectly kept standing, and the person who got it wrong sat down. Then the next person would stand up and face the winner of the previous question. This went on untill everyone was asked a question, and the person who got the most questions right by the end was given a prize (usually a chocolate bar or something else small). Depending on how everyone was feeling, we went around the class 2 or 3 times. This was what helped me learn them.

Also, in 4th grade, our teacher would play math bingo, where a bunch of cards that look like bingo cards were handed out, but instead of the teacher telling us numbers, she would give us math questions, and if the answer was on our card, we would put a marker on it. And we just played that like bingo.

Answer 4

Very smart students often have problems with memorization.

That's because the students thought to be very smart are actually incredibly lazy. They figure things out, instead of learning them.

If it helps, I recommend learning one "by" at a time. You'll notice patterns. For instance, the 5s all end in 5 or 0, right? And when you multiply 9 by n, the answer has n-1 for the left digit, and the two digits will add up to 9.

But you're still going to have to work. Sorry. Life is incredibly unfair, isn't it?

Answer 5

The normal way multiplication tables are written can make it hard to memorize. Try writing the multiplication tables in a different way. For my step daughter I made up 12 different sheets of paper, called counting by 1's, counting by 2's....etc. and under the heading would simply be:

counting by 3's:
3x1=3

3x2=6

3x3=9

3x4=12

3x5=15

3x6=18

3x7=21

3x8=24..etc...

This made it easier to go back and memorize. say the hard ones over and over to yourself..visualize the problem and answer.You could also try doing random multiplication, like write down random 9x7=?

* if you have a nintendo ds, brain age has a training program which has fast multiplication problems, its really fun and gets your brain thinking!

Hope that helps...good luck! Knowing your times tables make life much easier!!!

Answer 6

Yes, Practice! After a while it sinks in.

Remember that some people (like me) can see numbers, multiplication, division, addition, subtraction, in their heads. We have that instinctive ability to manipulate numbers by 'seeing it' in our heads and by using 'tricks' that reveal how math works.

Learn the tricks! 9X9 = ((9X10) - (9X1)) = (90-9) = 81. And 81 is (8+1) = 9 meaning 81 is divisible by 9. And 323,001 is divisible by 9 because 3+2+3+0+0+1 = 9, which is divisible by 9!

Different folks have different abilities - some for numbers, some for words, some for language, some for other intellectual insights. So you don't have the ability for numbers, but you have abilities for other ways of thinking. Use your inate abilites, and don't worry about skills you don't have.

Accept your limitations and work on them, but recognize your strengthes and build upon them.

Best advice: LEARN how to do math problems on paper. Calculaters are good and fine, but learning how to do math problems on paper is absolutely invaluable.
You never know - you may be the math whiz in a few years!

Answer 7

Sheikh ibn Uthaymeen! Never heard his name. May be he is an authority for some who know him. Fiqh is man-made. A human endeavor. Fiqh by one is not mandatory on all others. Therefore quoting the name of some Sheikh is not helpful. Fiqh is reasoning. And all our actions are judged not on the finesse of Fiqh but on our intention. In Salat, what is more important is Suroor not Huzoor. It is the ecstasy not the ritual that is more important. And Fiqh is all about rituals which are important but not the essence of prayer. Then the terms differ in different Muslim countries. It is today that I read for the first time the unfamiliar term:Tasleem.

Answer 8

Practice, practice, and more practice. Memorizing of the multiplication tables has been the only way of learning them and this "system" has worked for hundreds of years/ Stick with it

Answer 9

Hi. I guess you are OK with the easy ones like the 5s. If you remember two things it will get easier. You will only need to learn half of them because 6x7 is the same as 7x6 (both 42). The other is that you only need to learn up to th 12s. (Nobody memorizes 14x17 !)

Answer 10

See if you can find a copy of the "Schoolhouse Rock" shows. It's available on DVD from amazon.com at... http://www.amazon.com/dp/B00005JKTY?tag=schoolhouserock-20&camp=14573&creative=327641&linkCode=as1&creativeASIN=B00005JKTY&adid=1N00MVRXJZJYM6VFFM77&

Schoolhouse Rock was a series of short (five minutes) animated shows that set certain subjects to music. They cover multiplication tables, grammar and social studies.

Yes, they're old. Yes they were made in the 1970's. Yes, they are goofy. BUT they teach the subjects with catchy little tunes. After watching them just once or twice you'll find yourself singing "I got six, he got six, she got six... together we have eighteen".

The other way to memorize multiplication tables is to just use them. You've probably seen how to multiply larger numbers, like 485x679. Set a goal for yourself of working through maybe six problems where you're multiplying two numbers with three or four digits each tonight before you watch TV. If you have to look up 9x5 as part of one of those bigger problems, go ahead and look it up. Pretty soon you'll have to look up fewer and fewer of them. Check your work with a calculator or computer if you have one.

Why? I've noticed that for me personally, it has always been easier to learn smaller things (like 9x5) when I see how it's used as part of bigger problem (like 485x679). Just trying to memorize 9x5 all by itself made it seem like that little fact was too isolated and meaningless. But seeing that it's part of the solution to a bigger problem made seem more important and part of a bigger collection of things that all work together. (So now that fact that 9x5=45 is eating lunch at the same table as 6x4=24 and 7x8=56 instead of all by itself.)

I hope this helps.